Epic Games, the publisher behind Fortnite, announced on Friday that Apple has blocked the game’s latest submission to the iOS App Store. As a result, Fortnite has once again been removed from iPhones and iPads worldwide, including in the European Union, where the game had recently made a limited return through third-party platforms.
In a post on X, Epic wrote: “Apple has blocked our Fortnite submission so we cannot release to the US App Store or to the Epic Games Store for iOS in the European Union. Now, sadly, Fortnite on iOS will be offline worldwide until Apple unblocks it.” With the block now in place, Fortnite is unavailable not only via the Apple App Store but also through alternative distribution channels in the EU, including the Epic Games Store. This move halts Fortnite’s iOS availability entirely and interrupts Epic’s rollout of a new global update that was scheduled to go live across all platforms.
The development is the latest twist in a prolonged legal and regulatory conflict between Epic and Apple that has persisted for years – it began in 2020 when the iPhone-maker banned Fortnite from its App Store for implementing a direct payment system that bypassed Apple’s 30% commission on in-app purchases. That decision sparked a antitrust lawsuit, with a 2021 ruling affirming Apple’s legal right to remove Epic’s developer account under its existing guidelines.
Since then, Epic has been seeking pathways to bring Fortnite back to iOS, exploiting regulatory changes in the EU that allow alternative app stores under the Digital Markets Act. The company launched the Epic Games Store for iOS in the EU earlier, distributing Fortnite through its own platform and via AltStore PAL. This method enabled users in the EU to access the game without relying on the Apple App Store. In the US, Epic recently tried to return Fortnite to the iOS App Store using the developer account of its Swedish subsidiary, Epic Games Sweden, and submitted a new version of Fortnite for review. That submission, which included support for both Apple’s in-app purchase system and Epic’s own external payment option, was intended to comply with the most recent legal ruling which lifted restrictions on linking to external payment systems.
However, according to Epic, the latest submission was rejected without an official reason from Apple. Apple, for its part, later stated that it had asked Epic to resubmit its EU-specific update without linking it to the US store, in order to avoid unintended impacts on availability across regions. This development reopens debate around the control Apple exerts over the iOS ecosystem. Developers and industry analysts have long criticized Apple for maintaining a tightly controlled marketplace, which they argue limits developer freedom and harms innovation. Gabriel Le Roux, CEO of payments startup Primer, said the economics for gaming companies under Apple’s model remain challenging. “Losing 15-30% on every in-app transaction can completely erode profitability,” he told CNBC.
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